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Sec 2.4 - Measures of Central Location

This document discusses measures of central tendency including the mode, mean, and median. It provides examples and explanations of how to calculate each measure. The mode is defined as the most common value in a data set. The mean is the average value calculated by summing all values and dividing by the total number of data points. The median is the middle data point when the values are arranged in order from lowest to highest, or the average of the middle two points for an even number of data points. The document explains that the choice of measure depends on the characteristics of the data set, with the mode being best for qualitative data and the median being less impacted by outliers than the mean. It also discusses calculating the mean

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Siinozuko Masentse
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125 views

Sec 2.4 - Measures of Central Location

This document discusses measures of central tendency including the mode, mean, and median. It provides examples and explanations of how to calculate each measure. The mode is defined as the most common value in a data set. The mean is the average value calculated by summing all values and dividing by the total number of data points. The median is the middle data point when the values are arranged in order from lowest to highest, or the average of the middle two points for an even number of data points. The document explains that the choice of measure depends on the characteristics of the data set, with the mode being best for qualitative data and the median being less impacted by outliers than the mean. It also discusses calculating the mean

Uploaded by

Siinozuko Masentse
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Sec 2.

4 – Measures of Central Tendency

Mode Most common value

A value
“Centre”
around Mean Average value
can mean
which
many
data is
things
centred
Median “Middle data point”.
50% of the data points
are smaller or equal to
it.
16, 14, 15, 17, 17, 17,
Example 16, 18, 42, 17, 14, 13

Notation: mean = 𝑥ҧ
Pronounced “X-bar”

σ 𝑥𝑖
Mean 𝑥ҧ =
𝑛
16 + 14 + ⋯ + 14 + 13
= = 18
12
16, 14, 15, 17, 17, 17,
Mode 16, 18, 42, 17, 14, 13

The most common value is 17.

Median Step 1: Put the data in ascending order

13, 14, 14, 15, 16, 16, 17, 17, 17, 17, 18, 42

𝑛 + 1 13
Step 2: Find the position of the median, Me. = = 6.5
2 2
Step 3: Count the number of points till you get to the position

13, 14, 14, 15, 16, 16, 17, 17, 17, 17, 18, 42

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

The 6.5th position is here


When n is even the
median will be
between 2 of the
16+17 data points.
Median: = 16.5
2
What happens if the
number 13 is removed?

𝑛+1 11+1
Position: = =6
2 2

14, 14, 15, 16, 16, 17, 17, 17, 17, 18, 42

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 When n is odd the


median will be equal
to one of the data
points.

6th position. So Me = 17
Mean Vs Median

Good when… Good when…

• Data is symmetric • Data is not symmetric

• No outliers • Has outliers

Values that are “too big” or


“too small” when compared
to the rest of the values
Example continued Mean = 18
13, 14, 14, 15, 16, 16, Mode = 17
17, 17, 17, 17, 18, 42
Median = 16.5

The values are all very similar.


• But notice the outlier: 42.
• There is only one value greater than the
mean of 18. It doesn’t seem very
central.
• The outlier is pulling the mean up.
• When there are outliers the
median is more suitable.
Mode Used when the most common value/response
is wanted/suitable

If no value The data can


occurs more have more
than once, it If 2 values occur
most frequently, than 2 modes.
has no mode
the data is
“bimodal”. Example:
Example: 21 , 21 , 35 , 17 ,
21 , 34 , 10 , 16 Example: 17 , 16 , 35 , 19
21 , 34 , 34 , 16 , 21 , 13, 37
Example: Service satisfaction

You ask 9 people to rate the 1 = very good


service at a local restaurant. 2 = good
3 = average
A Likert scale is used to 4 = poor
“measure” their responses. 5 = very poor
The responses you receive are:

Good, good, average,


Bad, good, very good,
Bad, average, very bad

How many of each?


Very good 1
The most
Good 3
common
Average 2 Mode = Good
response was
Bad 2 “good”
Very bad 1
Codes:
Responses:
What about the mean? 1 = very good
Good, good, average,
2 = good
Bad, good, very good,
3 = average
Bad, average, very bad
σ𝑥 4 = poor
𝑥ҧ = 5 = very poor
𝑛

2 + 2 + 3 + ⋯+ 3 + 5
=
9
What response is
= 2.4 between “bad” and
“average”?
For qualitative data, the mode is the
best measure of central tendency.
?
Weighted Mean

Used when not all


the data points are
𝒙𝒊 is the data point equally important.

σ 𝑥𝑖 𝑤𝑖
𝑥𝑤 = 𝒘𝒊 is the
σ 𝑤𝑖
weight for 𝒙𝒊
Example Calculation of you final stat130 mark

DP = 53%
Your marks
Exam = 49%

DP counts 35% Exam counts


of the final mark 65% of final mark

53 35 + (49)(65)
𝑥ҧ = = 50.4
35 + 65
Mean for grouped data Estimate the unknown 𝑥𝑖
with the midpoints

𝒙𝒎𝒊𝒅(𝒊)
𝒌 = number of classes
𝒎𝒊
Both notations will be
used in this module.
𝒌

෍ 𝒎𝒊 𝒇𝒊
ഥ=
𝒙 𝒊=𝟏
Frequencies
𝒏
Example
𝑘
This means that there are 3 data recordings σ𝑖=1 𝑚𝑖 𝑓𝑖
with values from 15 to 20. Since we don’t 𝑥ҧ =
know what they are, we can estimate them 𝑛
using the class midpoint of 17.5.

17.5 3 +⋯+(41.5)(10)
=
53

= 31.877
Mean, Median and Mode : Raw Data

Mean = 𝐴𝑉𝐸𝑅𝐴𝐺𝐸 𝑎𝑟𝑟𝑎𝑦

Step 2:
Step 1: Type in
Enter the Excel
Median = 𝑀𝐸𝐷𝐼𝐴𝑁 𝑎𝑟𝑟𝑎𝑦
data command

Mode = 𝑀𝑂𝐷𝐸 𝑎𝑟𝑟𝑎𝑦


Mean, Median and Mode : Raw Data
Mean : Grouped Data

Numerator:
= 𝑆𝑈𝑀𝑃𝑅𝑂𝐷𝑈𝐶𝑇 𝑎𝑟𝑟𝑎𝑦 1 ; 𝑎𝑟𝑟𝑎𝑦 2

σ𝑘𝑖=1 𝑚𝑖 𝑓𝑖 Frequencies Midpoints


𝑥ҧ =
𝑛

Denominator: 𝑆𝑈𝑀 𝑎𝑟𝑟𝑎𝑦 1


STEP 1:
Enter data

STEP 2:
Calculate the
midpoint values

STEP 3:
Type in the Excel
Function

STEP 4:
Press Enter

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